Zoom Recorder as a Mixer

Last week at the fair, their sound system only had one input and no mixer. My show uses up 3 channels, so I was in a little bit of a bind. Luckily I usually have a Zoom Recorder in my backpack for recording show audio and working on The Odd and Offbeat Podcast that I cohost with comedy juggler Matt Baker.

magic show audio setup

The zoom recorder has three inputs, 2 XLR’s and one 1/8 inch, which worked perfectly for my show’s needs. I then used the audio out to plug into the sound system and it worked great! As a bonus, I was also able to record my shows audio so that I could review it!

I’d never used it as a mixer before and glad it worked out, and now I know that in a pinch, I can use it!

-Louie

Recreating Sound!

Here’s a little tip for when you’re working a fair or any multi-day gig with a lot of other acts. First of all, don’t touch the sound company’s equipment without asking. What I do is ask if I can have 3 dedicated channels for the week. Usually they say yes, but not always. I do my initial sound check and once that’s done I take a pic of the sound board and note what’s mine.

Now it’s really easy to recreate the same sound by using the picture if things get changed.

I know the sound guy is there for that…well usually they are. The fair where I took this picture had one person running four stages. Since my audio was never supposed to change, he didn’t visit my stage near my show times very often. I’m OK with that, I had his cell number and could text him if I needed him.

Well, one of the community acts later in the day as I was packing up used two channels, a handheld mic and a phone with music on it. At one point there was feedback and the person running music slid down all the levels on the all the channels of the board to make it stop. I should note that the reason there was feedback was the person with the mic stood in front of a speaker.

That person turning down everyone’s channels ruined the preset for the next day. Luckily I have what I need to easily recreate what I had before it got changed! Take a pic of the soundboard, it only takes a couple of seconds and can save you a pain later!

-Louie

Echo…Echo…

Doing a stage show in a room that’s not designed for a show can be rough on the performer. Last night I did a show in a very echoy venue. It’s hard to perform in places like that. I really need to slow down my rate of speech for venues where there is an echo. … Continue reading “Echo…Echo…”

Doing a stage show in a room that’s not designed for a show can be rough on the performer. Last night I did a show in a very echoy venue. It’s hard to perform in places like that. I really need to slow down my rate of speech for venues where there is an echo.


One of the things that I need to remember is to keep my rate of speech slow and take a lot of pauses at the periods and commas. That will help what I’m saying not step on the echo, and let the whole audience get what I’m saying and have time to process it before I talk again.


One helpful thing I did was walk around the venue while I was mic’d to hear what I sounded like. Sound does change a lot once you have a room full of people, however it gave me a feel for how the audio might sound.


The key is to be aware of the situation and not to complain. The event can’t remove the echo from the room, so you’ve got to be a pro and deal with it.